Module 13.1: Schizophrenia and the Origins of its Construct

Question 1

Schizophrenia

Answer 1

Schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by an array of diverse symptoms, including extreme oddities in the ff:
+ Perception
+ Thinking
+ Action
+ Sense of Self
+ Manner of relating to others
+ Psychosis (significant loss of contact with reality; the hallmark of schizophrenia)

+ characterized by a broad spectrum of cognitive and emotional dysfunctions

Question 2

John Haslam

Answer 2

+ He offered the first detailed clinical description of schizophrenia (1810)
+ Worked in the apothecary at the Bethlem Hospital in London, England
+ He described the case of a patient who appeared to have suffered from a variety of symptoms (including delusions) that are typical of schizophrenia

Question 3

Benedict Morel

Answer 3

+ Belgian psychiatrist who contributed to the study of schizophrenia fifty years after John Haslam
+ He studied on the case of a 13-year old boy who had formerly been the most brilliant student in his school but who gradually lost interest in his studies, becoming increasingly withdrawn, lethargic, reclusive, quiet, and appeared to have forgotten everything he head learned
+ Morel had the idea that the boy’s intellectual, moral, and physical functions had deteriorated as a result of brain degeneration of hereditary origin
+ He used the term démence précoce (mental deterioration at an early age) to describe the condition and to distinguish it from the dementing disorders associated with old agBelgian psychiatrist who contributed to the study of schizophrenia fifty years after John Haslam
+ He studied on the case of a 13-year old boy who had formerly been the most brilliant student in his school but who gradually lost interest in his studies, becoming increasingly withdrawn, lethargic, reclusive, quiet, and appeared to have forgotten everything he head learned
+ Morel had the idea that the boy’s intellectual, moral, and physical functions had deteriorated as a result of brain degeneration of hereditary origin
+ He used the term démence précoce (mental deterioration at an early age) to describe the condition and to distinguish it from the dementing disorders associated with old age

Question 4

Emil Kraepelin

Answer 4

+ A German psychiatrist who is best known for his careful description of schizophrenia
+ He used the Latin version of Morel’s term which is “dementia praecox”
+ He noted that the disorder was characterized by hallucinations, apathy and indifference, withdrawn behavior, and an incapacity for regular work

Question 5

Eugen Bleuler

Answer 5

+ Coined the diagnostic term that we still use today: schizophrenia in 1911
+ Bleuler believed the condition was characterized primarily by disorganization of thought processes, a lack of coherence between thought and emotion, and an inward orientation away (like a split) from reality
+ It is indicated in Bleuler’s monograph (“The Group of Schizophrenias”) that he believed the disorder was not a single diagnostic entity

Question 6

Etymology of Schizophrenia

Answer 6

Schizophrenia was derived from the Greek terms “sxizo” (pronounced as “schizo”) which means “to split or crack,” and “phren” which means mind)

Question 7

What does the split in schizophrenia refer to?

Answer 7

The splitting is not a split of personalities like Jekyll and Hyde but it is a split in intellect – between the intellect and emotion and between the intellect and external reality

Question 8

When can schizophrenia be diagnosed?

Answer 8

+ If two or more symptoms which can be positive, negative, or disorganized speech and thought and behavior are present
+ If delusions are bizarre and hallucinations consists of a voice or more, with only 1 symptom